Advances in computing hardware and software, as well as computing networks and network services, have bolstered growth of Internet-based product and service procurement and delivery. For example, online shopping, in turn, has fostered the use of “subscription”-based delivery computing services with an aim to provide convenience to consumers. In particular, a user becomes a subscriber when associated with a subscriber account, which is typically implemented on a remote server for a particular seller. In exchange for electronic payment, which is typically performed automatically, a seller ships a specific product (or provides access to a certain service) at periodic times, such as every three (3) months, every two (2) weeks, etc., or any other repeated periodic time intervals. With conventional online subscription-based ordering, consumers need not plan to reorder to replenish supplies of a product.
But conventional approaches to provide subscription-based order fulfillment, while functional, suffer a number of other drawbacks. For example, traditional subscription-based ordering relies on computing architectures that predominantly generate digital “shopping cart” interfaces with which to order and reorder products and services. Traditional subscription-based ordering via shopping cart interfaces generally rely on a user to manually determine a quantity and a time period between replenishing shipments, after which the quantity is shipped after each time period elapses. Essentially, subscribers receive products and services on “auto-pilot.”
Unfortunately, conventional approaches to reordering or procuring subsequent product and services deliveries are plagued by various degrees of rigidity that interject sufficient friction into reordering that cause some users to either delay or skip making such purchases. Such friction causes some users to supplement the periodic deliveries manually if an item is discovered to be running low more quickly than otherwise might be the case (e.g., depleting coffee, toothpaste, detergent, wine, or any other product more quickly than normal).
Examples of such friction include “mental friction” that may induce stress and frustration in such processes. Typically, a user may be required to rely on one's own memory to supplement depletion of a product and services prior to a next delivery (e.g., remembering to buy coffee before running out) or time of next service. Examples of such friction include “physical friction,” such as weighing expending time and effort to either physically confront a gauntlet of lengthy check-out and shopping cart processes, or to make an unscheduled stop at a physical store.
Thus, what is needed is a solution to facilitate techniques of determining usage of a consumable and monitoring an inventory of the consumable for purposes of replenishment, without the limitations of conventional techniques.